2010 Suzuki Boulevard M50 Reviews

2010 Suzuki Boulevard M50 from New Zealand

Summary:

General Comments:

Comfortable; my first ride was 300 km non-stop, with no numb bum or other discomfort.

Great handling, I love to lean this bike, it's light and easily manoeuvred. Easy to keep up with other bikes.

Responsive engine, low rev torque is more than enough, and easy cruising at 120 km/hr and above.

Fuel tank large enough for 275 to 300 km. A slightly larger tank would be nice, but not necessary.

Exhausts!!! Suzuki, make the factory fitted exhaust louder - be seen, be heard, be safe! This is the first thing I'd change with after market parts.

Brakes. Would love to see this bike with double front discs and a single rear disc, but then it probably wouldn't be such a great price. The bike is a cruiser, not a sports bike, so the brakes are adequate for the intended purpose.

I started riding at the age of 61, two years ago. I did 20 months (24,000 km) on a leaner 250cc cruiser, then bought my Boulevard M50 a couple of months ago. I did a lot of research and decided on the M50 because it was in the size and weight range I wanted (750 to 900 cc), had mag wheels, was shaft drive, had a nice low and comfortable seat, and looked like a classic cruiser.

I've done 2,100 km in just over two months. I ride her whenever I can, I use her to commute (unfortunately only 10 km each way - I try to take the longer way home whenever possible) and take longer rides in the weekend.

I would just like a little more noise from the exhaust to make me more noticeable to other vehicles out on the road.

She's the bright orange colour, I like that, and people come up to me when I pull up and comment on her looks.

2010 Suzuki Boulevard M50 from Australia

Summary:

Faults:

Bought my M50 2 weeks ago after test riding various cruisers. Due to back injuries, have given up on cars, hurts my back too much getting in and out of cars.

I chose the M50 over the C50 because of the mags (no spokes coming loose), and I preferred the dash in the conventional position on the handle bars (I didn't want to keep looking down at the tank to see what speed I'm doing), the styling looked nice, and it came in a nice orange colour, so I don't look like everybody else.

On the downside, when I climbed on the bike, the seat felt very different compared to the test bike; I don't know why, it felt very narrow in the front, and short from back to front, unless you like sitting on a slope. I am a pretty average guy; 1.8m and 100kg. I tried an "Airhawk" and didn't like the feeling, and it did nothing to help relieve the discomfort. I went to Custom Motorcycle Seats and spoke to Bill, he was a bit skeptical as to whether he could help me, but eventually lengthened and widened the front of the seat; it now feels like a M90, MUCH BETTER.

The exhaust is very quiet, which is great if there were no cars or trucks on the road, so I had the exhaust opened up enough to be noticed by other road users, but not loud enough to attract attention from the cops. Lost power on the top end, and have booked the bike in for dyno tuning. Might have to fit a Power Commander, but the mechanics think they should be able to solve it without the added expense.

General Comments:

I have owned bikes most of my life, and this is the most fun bike I have owned.

Excellent value for money.

The finish is great.

Handling is predictable and effortless.

The power is adequate for the task that it is designed for. I took a ride this weekend with a couple of guys, a Mean Streak and a Harley that cost 30k, and the guy had spent a further 20k on bits and pieces, both lovely bikes. At the end of the ride, they were both impressed that I was able to keep up with them in the winding mountain roads, especially since I had my daughter on the back. When overtaking, I had to choose the opportunities carefully, and obviously used the gearbox a lot more than they had to, which I didn't mind since the box is so smooth. They could obviously have left me behind if they wanted to, but they said that they drove their normal speeds.

I like the big tyres, added peace of mind with all the pot holes due to recent floods in Qld.

Economy is great. I use half the fuel the Mean Streak does.

The bike is just the right size to cruise around doing daily chores and taking rides on the weekends.

Not too heavy, easy enough to handle despite my back problems.

Love fuel injection; beats carburettors any day.

Shaft drive YES, no chains and sprockets.

The only downside is that at highway speeds the motor revs fairly high. One guy suggested changing the differential internals with a C90 to bring the revs down. My mechanic said he could do it, but that it would cost $3000 and then the added pressure does the big ends in. So I will keep to the speed limits and slightly above, which is a very good thing in the long run.